


Sing, Goddess, the Grief of Achilles

by orphan_account



Category: The Iliad - Homer
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 22:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2446175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fates were cruel. They were not to be swayed, even by Zeus, king of all gods. But even crueler still, was Achilles who had allowed Patroclus’ Fate to swallow him whole.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sing, Goddess, the Grief of Achilles

 “O Patroclus, I wish to Father Zeus

   And to Athena and Apollo

That all of them, Greeks and Trojans alike,

Every last man on Troy’s dusty plain,

Were dead, and only you and I were left

  To rip Ilion down, stone by sacred stone.” ( _XVI.97 – XVI.112 [Lombardo])_

  

There, with only the moonlight filtering through the canvas, Achilles held Patroclus. He traced his cheekbones down to his collarbone and back up. He smelled of ambrosia and ruby nectar – Thetis’ gift to keeping Patroclus’ body from decaying. 

 

Achilles let out a stuttering breath and gripped tighter. Mumbled apologies and lamentations were pressed into Patroclus’ neck. He felt hot tears flowing down again. His body racked with sorrow as he remembered how he sentenced his friend to death.

 

_Patroclus came to Achilles and stood by him weeping._

_“You and your damned Honor!”_

_“At least send_ me _out, let_ me _lead a troop.”_

 

_And Achilles, in his rage and grief, agreed._

_“Come back where you belong.” And he had prayed to Zeus. “May he come back to me unharmed.”_

And he remembered Antilochus, son of Nestor, running towards him, crying. And he remembered his act of scooping up sunburnt dust and covering himself in it. How he stretched his body out in the dust and lay there, tearing out his hair. But it was not enough. Not enough to reach Patroclus who has gone to the underworld.

 

And Thetis, who heard his son’s grief, wept.  _As long as he lives and sees the sunlight, he will be in pain._ For his beloved had left him.

 

Achilles roused awake when he felt a presence loaming over him. Patroclus’ sad spirit had come. Bury me, he said. Bury me so I may pass through Hades’ gates and may our bones be combined. And Achilles promised.

 

“Come closer. Let us give in to grief, however briefly, in each other’s arms.” With his hand outstretched, he curled his hand around his spirit. But he had vanished like smoke, gone under the earth. And the sorrow came anew. He wailed and laid his forehead on top of Patroclus’.

 

“There is no joy in me even as the Greeks fall. You, dear heart, are gone, left with only your beautiful body to keep me company.”

 

He brushed his lips against cool, still ones.

 

“But I will join you soon. It is destined I shall die in this foreign land. We will sit apart from our comrades and talk like before.”

 

And he stayed there, weeping over Patroclus, even as Dawn came.

**Author's Note:**

> About 75% of this was canon (dialogue/actions). Least to say, The Iliad just destroyed my heart.


End file.
